Pauillac · first growth (1er grand cru classé) in 1855
Château Lafite Rothschild: vintages available, prices and food pairing
The grand vin and its second wine, Carruades de Lafite, vintage by vintage, with the format, the indicative price and what to expect from it today: ready to drink, or for keeping. Tick what interests you, and the quote goes out with your selection.
The vintages on our price list
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Two wines, one estate
Same estate, same team, two uses.
Château Lafite Rothschild
The grand vin, the first named in the 1855 classification. Mostly cabernet sauvignon, with merlot, a little cabernet franc and petit verdot. Less massive than its neighbours, finer, it needs fifteen years and lasts fifty.
Carruades de Lafite
The second wine, named after a plateau of vines on the estate. Ready at around six to eight years. Its price is higher than that of many classified growths: it is the Lafite label you are buying.
The Rothschild family, Baron James's branch, bought Lafite in 1868 and still owns it. In 1962 it acquired its neighbour Duhart-Milon, a fourth growth. To know when a second wine is the right choice, see great château second wines. The appellation's other châteaux are on the Pauillac wines page.
The vineyard covers 112 hectares in three blocks: the slopes around the château, the Carruades plateau to the west and a 4.5-hectare plot in Saint-Estèphe. Fine, deep gravels mixed with wind-blown sand, over a well-drained Tertiary limestone subsoil; a few ungrafted vines are 140 years old. The 1982, an early year with a quick flowering under June sunshine, blends 65% cabernet sauvignon and 29% merlot. The 1996 was born of a very slow ripening under a north wind, with 83% cabernet. The 2014 has 87% cabernet sauvignon.
What to serve it with
- Château Lafite, older vintage: a simple dish, fine roast poultry, feathered game (wine with game). The wine is delicate: nothing too spicy.
- Château Lafite, fifteen to twenty-five years: saddle of lamb (wine with lamb), fillet of beef (wine with beef).
- Carruades de Lafite: roast lamb, duck breast (wine with duck), well-aged pressed cheeses (wine with cheese).
Which vintage for which occasion
For a birthday, the birth year, if the table has it (birth-year vintage). To give a great name on a smaller budget, Carruades: see which wine to give. A magnum ages more slowly than a bottle and serves a dozen glasses.
Is Château Lafite Rothschild a grand cru classé?
Yes. It is a first growth (premier grand cru classé) in the 1855 classification, in the Pauillac appellation. Carruades de Lafite, its second wine, is not classified.
What is the difference between Lafite and Carruades de Lafite?
Same estate, same cellars. The grand vin comes from the best plots and the oldest vines and keeps for half a century; Carruades comes from the younger vines, drinks earlier and costs at least three times less.
When should you drink a Château Lafite?
Allow fifteen years before opening it and fifty years of good form, a little longer in a great year, a little less in a weak year or in half bottles; for Carruades, six to twenty-five years. The table applies this rule to every line; it is not a tasting note, and a badly stored bottle ages faster.
Are the prices shown the ones in the quote?
They are the indicative prices from the price list, incl. VAT, per bottle of the format, delivery excluded. The quote confirms the price, the availability of each vintage and the shipping; the delivery grid gives the lead times. For a vintage not in the table, the quote request is still open.